Surprise My Pet!!

This Wednesday Zachary is turning 18!!! And usually for his birthday he doesn't really want to do anything for it. He has always told me he just isn't into a party so he hasn't had one in years!
But this year was going to be different! Cause his girlfriend Lauren just wasn't having none of that!
She decided she wanted to throw a surprise party for him. She was so sweet about it because she told me that since it was a big year for him, turning 18 and all it was very important. One he would always remember and she wanted to make sure that when he thought back to this year he would remember how many people really love him! Her entire goal was to make him feel special and loved! She is such a sweetie!
So I agreed to help her throw a surprise party with some of his closest friends.And then it started looking like about 30 people, then 50 people and by the end we were looking at about 70!!! Holy crap!

Tonight was the party and when Zach first walked into the party he was TOTALLY surprised! Seriously! We pulled it off! AWESOME!! I still can't believe that we pulled this one off!

Lauren and her girlfriends made a giant cake out of cardboard boxes.

The they had this inside~ Abe .......

Oh yeah..And Jake!!! I wasn't really getting what they were planning on doing! Not yet anyhow!

So they sat Zach down on a chair as soon as he got there and they put some music on. And Abe and Jake jumped out of the cake.

And...ummm....danced??

OH.MY.HELL!!!!

Wrong on so many levels. Seriously! But...seriously hilarious. (i was kinda embarrassed laughing my butt off like i did) Jake stole the show for sure!! Makes you wonder if he's had some prior experience there! Haha!

These boys crack me up! They have all been such good friends for the past four years and they are all great kids!

They are crazy and all but they are good kids. I am grateful for that!

Tony and I left shortly after the ummm...cake dance!

And I am so pleased that the party was a huge success! Tons of food, tons of good friends, Karaoke ( you shoulda heard them boys singing!), swimming, etc! The kids were having a great time and I am certain that without a doubt that exactly what Lauren wanted for Zachary has happened! He will look back with fond memories of his 18th birthday and know he had so many friends and family that loved him and were happy to be able to share that day with him!

And Lauren! Thanks sweetheart! We love you!

My Sweet 16 Girl!!

Attention all cute boys~ Miz Rachelle is now 16 and we are taking applications for the honor of taking her out on a date!

Wow...my lil Rach is old enough to date AND drive! Life has now become very, very scary around here folks!!

Rachelle is one of the sweetest girl's you will ever meet! She is so affectionate with me. I am not a really snuggly, feely kinda girl so I appreciate that she IS and she always has lots of hugs and kisses to give.

I enjoy spending time with her and talking. I am proud of the young woman she is becoming!

Rachelle!! I love you so much! I hope your birthday was wonderful!!

Miss Gracie Turns Four!

My wild and crazy girl just turned four! I always say I can’t believe it but with her I totally can! Not sure if it is because she drives me wild and time just doesn’t fly by as quickly with her or if it is because she is so dang smart and I forget how young she really is!
Grace is my sassy one through and through. Her sass is what makes her such a character! Although she is a challenge for sure she is also so dang funny! I remember our trip to Atlanta and all the teens were screaming with laughter. And it was because Grace was making up jokes for them. She loves telling jokes! And she loves being the center of attention!
I love, love that I can get her to dance on cue. She will rock out with me anytime anywhere. My kinda girl! The other day when picking up the mouthy teens she wanted me to roll down her window so she could dance and sing the song Tik Tok at the top of her lungs to all the kids around! Cracks me up. It was something I would do! Bonus~it embarrasses the older ones! HA!
For her birthday we went to the Rainforest Café. She loved it of course. Then we headed home for presents. She loved everything and wanted to know how I knew it was “just” what she wanted! It was a low key birthday but for her it was just right!
I love my sassy girl Gracie Mae! She brings excitement, frustration, humor, clarity, wisdom, and joy into our lives and I am grateful she is a part of our family!
Happy Birthday Grace! Here are some of the things we love about you!
Dad~Her view on life. Her funny facial expressions. How she sticks her hip out with her hands on her hips. She’s spunky! Her hair. How she dances. Her binky talk! You have to be a linguist to understand it! How she will mix it up with Ethan then she’ll rat him out!

Zachary~ I love the way she tries to smile with her binkers in, and even though everyone thinks she hates me we all know I am her favorite :) Also I love her sassy princess attitude and she's the only four year old I know who speaks her mind:)

Rachelle~ I love her Booty-luscious butt shakings. I love the way she’ll always bust a move for yo no matter where you are.

Hannah~ I absolutely love Gracie, she's fun,Insane and a wild beast no one can contain her.

Bailey~I love that she plays with me. I like that she likes cartoons. She picks flowers with me!

Ashley~

Anthony~ She is so wild and crazy, one of the most unique of the family. I love how her teeth stick out and her voice is super cute. She is so sweet and spunky. I love how she knows words to songs that I don’t even know and how she sings them in the car. She gives great hugs and kisses.

Elizabeth~I love how she snuggles me and sings at the top of her lungs. I love her crooked teeth. :]

Eric~ Grace is a huge load of cute fun times. I love playing with her as long as she doesn’t call me a meanie poo-poo face.

Happy Birthday Ashley

21!! Ashley is 21!!! I can still remember meeting her for the first time.She had these big brown beautiful eyes and the best smile.She was so affectionate right from the beginning. I loved it when she told me it would OK with her if her dad and I decided to get married! She then gave me the biggest hug! It was so sweet!

I think she thinks I am kinda crazy ( which I am!) But I think she kinda like it too! She was my friend from the very beginning and I have always been very grateful for that!

And now she is a young woman.All grown up.WOW!It went quick!At least I know she is the same kind person that I met 12 years ago with that same beautiful smile!

Ashley~ I hope your birthday was super fabulous!I am grateful you are a part of my family.I am proud of the young woman you are becoming!I love you!

Happy Happy Birthday!

Here are a few things that we love about you!

Dad~ remembering her as a little girl. Her smile. her eyes. I love her laugh.I love her spirituality. I love that she comes to me when she needs to talk!

Anthony~ You are my twin! So to love you, is to love myself. and we all know how much I do.;) Haha! I just love everything about her. We are so alike and we really understand each other.Considering we are the only two people who answers their phones, we like to talk to each other about our lives.You are such a amazing and amazing daughter of God.I am so proud of all that you have accomplished. I will miss you while I am away on my mission! I love you!

Zachary~You are my twin. Just kidding. But you are a sweetheart and one of the few people who laughs at my jokes.I appreciate that :). She is caring and always seems to brightens the room with her smile or laugh.

Rachelle~I love her individuality and the way she glows when she enters a room. Her laugh is enough to put me in a better mood every single time.I wish we spent more time around each other!

Elizabeth~I love how loving she is and that she is always there for me.I love her outgoing personality and love for fun.

Hannah~Ashley is fun and loving. I just love her!

Erica~I love her personality, her awesome dance moves and how she helps me keep Eric in line! ;)

Eric~ Ashley is my oldest sister.Thankfully she's not from another mister.She's amazing and fun and awefully cute.I can't wait for her to bring home another black British man.

Grace~I love that she does the things that I want her to do. I like her.

Bailey~I like her playing with me.I like riding on her shoulders.

Hannah Turns 11!

My poor Hannah, not only am I late posting about her birthday I was late celebrating it too! Her birthday was just a little over a week after I had Adelynn and I just couldn't do a party.So I made her wait. A FULL month! Yeah I'm a mean mom. I told her I just couldn't do it yet and if she wanted a party she had to wait.

She chose to go to Matuku's Island which I thought was a totally weird choice, but they had a blast. The great thing about going there is that I didn't have to do a thing. I had been sick and wasn't up for the party but it worked out fine cause I was able to just sit in the cafe with my Diet Coke and relax while they played. Which was a good thing cause let me tell you six girls and one boy at that age can be obnoxious! They are LOUD! When we were in the party room having pizza they broke out into dance and Tyler even showed the girls his slick moves by dropping to the floor and doing the worm. The girls scream with laughter over that one. They were so silly. I can remember being that spastic when I was younger. It made me smile!

They had a great time and Hannah was thrilled with how the party turned out! She is such a sweet easy going girl. She gets lost in the mix sometimes. I think being the middle child is hard. Yet she is such a huge help to me. I know I can always count on her. I love that she has such a wide variety of friends. She likes everyone. We've lived in places where the girls are really cliquish even at this age. And she was told if you are friends with so and so then we won't be your friend. And she would tell me "mom, that would hurt her feelings if I stopped being her friend" and she chose to remain friends with the one girl and lost being in with that group of girls. I am proud of that about her.

Hannah girl~ I love you and am so glad you had a fun birthday this year! Thanks for being patient waiting for that party. Being your mom is the best thing in the world and I am so proud of the young lady you are becoming!

I hope your birthday was a very happy one! XOXO!

Happy Birthday Ethan!!!

Ethan James,

My big old boy. Where did the time go? With you it always flies by. You keep me so busy I don't really have time to sit back and reflect too much!

This past year has been a year of huge changes for you. Mostly you went from being this really mellow, easy going little guy into being a wild, funny, crazy kid!

When Zachary was 2 he was pretty mellow. Very easy. But I have to say you~ Well, you shock me! I didn't realize a kid could be so BOY! So busy! So into EVERYTHING!

I get a chuckle when people offer to watch you and when they drop you off they exclaim~ "Wow! He is alot of work isn't he?" Of course they always tell me you weren't bad or anything, just busy. Into everything! And yes you really are! It seems as if you never stop. You have two speeds. Full speed and off. No in between.

This year you have developed a love for whacking things. Cats, sisters, bushes, your dad. Whatever you can hit with a stick the better. When your dad bought you a light saber last month I thought we were in deep, deep trouble. Fortunately the damage has been minimal and you love that thing!

You love being outside and exploring. You love finding bugs and parts of birds and lizards that the cats have killed. Yuck! We had a pretty hairy week there when you thought it was hilarious to throw half eaten lizard bodies or a bird's foot on me. My screaming cracked you up and you did it over and over again! I thought I was going to have a heart attack over it.

You love cars, and trucks, dinosaurs, you dad,pizza and swimming. Your favorite movie is Madagascar 2 and you could watch it everyday, several times a day.

Lately you have been walking all around the house singing the song Moto Moto the hippo sings...I like em big..I like em chunky. Hmm. Maybe that's why you love me so much? Anyhow, your older brother and sister actually downloaded the song onto their ipods so they could play it for you over and over again and it delights you every time!

Your brothers and sisters love you so much as you do them!

Your dad loves that stupid movie as much as you do and the two of you often watch it together sometimes two times in a row.Your daddy is your best friend and you love hanging out with him. He gets up early every Saturday morning and the two of you hang out. Go to the store together, tinker around the yard, and watch Star Wars Clone Wars. It is kind of funny and yet very sweet that during the week you are my little buddy following me around but on Saturday it is all about dad. I could be chopped liver for all you notice me.

I am shocked at how much bigger you are than your sisters. You outweigh them and are in bigger sizes of clothes than them. You are a rock solid, a chunk and I love it. I am always gobbling up those fat cheeks!

You bring so much fun and love into this family and I simply can't imagine not having you a part of it!

I love, love, love you and can't wait to see what the next year brings! Happy Birthday big guy!!!

Here are some things your family loves about you~

Dad~You're chunky! You say funny things. You are so snuggly. I love the way you look at me sideways when you are being tricky!

Zach~ I love how energetic he is. He is a man's man. He fits in with the boys.

Rachelle~ How cute and rambunctious he is

Hannah~ I love how wild, crazy and fun he is yet he is also snuggly

Bailey~How he lets go of balloons so easily. I love him coloring with me.

Grace~ He plays with me.

Happy Birthday Bailey!!!

My sweet girl Bailey~

I'm feelin kinda weepy today. I can't believe that today you turned 5! Time is passing way too fast for me and I'm worried I'm not taking the time to enjoy each and every second of your being my little girl.

I think back to one of my very favorite memories of you. You were only two years old and just as you do now you were sleeping in my bed. I woke up with this strange feeling of being watched. I opened my eyes and you were wide awake. Staring at my face. You put both hands on my cheeks and put your face right up to mine so our noses were almost touching and in the sweetest voice I have ever heard you whispered "you the bestest mommy eva" It melted my heart. That sweet side of you is one of my favorite things about you.

You are so kind and gentle with everyone you are around. Friends, brothers, sisters,school mates. People are always telling me they just can't get over what a sweet girl you are. I just smile and say "Yeah I know!" And my heart swells with love.

This past year has been a fun one. Watching you as you have grown and changed. You are getting so big. I love watching the make believe games you play with Grace.You have quite the imagination and I love hearing you explain to Grace the way things are. I got a chuckle out of you telling me that you had changed Ethan's poopy diaper for me because I had been throwing up all morning. You were so proud of the fact that you changed it and that it was "pretty disgusting"

You've developed a bit of a mischievious side and that is OK with us! It's good to see that sass come out sometimes!

I get frustrated with you sometimes because you will change clothes five, six, even seven times a day. You love dressing up. You are all about the clothes, the hair, the accessories. I had to smile when we went to Gymboree and you told your dad and I you were in charge. Cause you know just what looks cute on you. And you had to choose the shirt, and the pants, and a necklace to go with the outfit and a purse. And a headband. And we bought it all. And you kept telling me how people just weren't going to believe how totally cute you are. I think you have more fashion sense at the age of five than your mom does now...at the age of 29....errr ok..29 and a half....! You are a little diva.

Your older brother and sister love training you like a little dog. They like to make you say things (like wassup Zach, bust homie) and other stupid stuff. They like showing you funky handshakes, and different dance moves. I think you are their pet and you love it!

Some of your favorite things are gardening with your dad, anything princess, barbies, flowers,shrimp,kittens, watching cartoons and playing with friends.

This is the first year you have attended preschool and you did so well! It was so hard on you everytime you were sick and had to miss days! You loved Ms McClure and she loved you.I think you will miss having her for a teacher but you are now ready for kindergarten and super excited to begin. I am not so sure I am though. Like I said...time feels like it is slipping away and I want to savor each and every moment!

I want you to know I feel blessed each and every day that you are in my life. You make me want to scream some days, but mostly you make me smile. There isn't anything about you that I can think of that I don't love! You add so much to this family and we love you so much!

I can't wait to see what the next 5 years bring!

Happy Birthday Sweet Bailey!!!!

Here are some of the things your brothers and sisters say they love about you...

Zachary~She always brightens up my mood. She is brilliant. She is a good helper. Always willing to help me.

Rachelle~I love how spontaneos she can be. I love her willingness to snuggle. Always.

Hannah~She can pick a good fight. She has nice hair. She is sweet.

Grace~Her plays with me. She plays games. She takes pictures of moths that are big and pretty and she takes pictures of butterflies that are pretty!

Daddy~ How motherly she is. She is always looking after others. She saved Gracie twice in the pool!

She knows when someone sneaks out of the house and lets us know. She is my spy for when Zachary has girls over. She will tell me if they are kissing.

We hope you had a happy happy birthday Bailey! You are loved so much!

Happy Birthday Chella Labella!

Saturday my wild child,Gracie turned 3!

She chose to go to Chuckie Cheese of course. Great place to torture the parents and have a good time. Mission accomplished!

She was a kick in the pants all day long. She told everyone Happy Birthday to you or she'd say YOU may not go with me to Chuckie Cheese. She was super nice to some and not so nice to others. You know...typical Grace!

My favorite part of the day was watching her open her presents. She was DELIGHTED with each and every present she received. She'd laugh and tell me she really loved it.

Do you ever worry you didn't get just the right present or buy enough of them? I always do for some reason but I couldn't have done better in her mind and it was great! She was so appreciative of everything.

The kids played for awhile and we ate pizza that tasted like cardboard! Fortunately for me I didn't care if tasted crappy since everything I eat makes me sick! I guess Chuckie Cheese isn't successful because of the delicious pizza it sells!

After Up Chuckie we headed over to Toys R Us and let Grace pick out a toy. She chose Fairy wings that play music. She is a odd duck that one!

I felt like crap by the time we got home so we saved the cake and ice cream for Sunday night's dinner with the missionaries.

We lit the candles and sang Happy Birthday to her but I couldn't get a picture of her blowing out the candles since the second we lit them she blew them out before I could take the picture.

It was a fun birthday for her and all the funny little things she did throughout made me smile and realize how grateful I am that this sweet, funny little girl is a part of my family. She is without question my hardest kid and yet she is also the most entertaining, and fun. I love, love her personality. Some days more than others of course!

Happy Birthday my little Chella Labella! I hope you had as good of a day as me!

It's My Party And I'll Cry If I Want Too!

OK, have you ever felt that way on your birthday? Seriously! I have! Having a December birthday so close to Christmas SUCKS sometimes!

BUT~ Not this year! My family actually remembered! Rachelle got up early and took the lil ones. I got to sleep in! She and Hannah picked up the house and Hannah made a homemade card and made sure everyone signed it!
I got may hair done and then Tony and I went out to dinner to my fav restaurant the Fish Market. It was such a nice day!
No one forgot and everyone went out of their way to be kind and make sure I had a good day!
So to my family~ Thanks for making it a great day! It was fantastic!

Oh.. and Tony? He is ON this year! Not only has he gotten me presents for Christmas this year he did it all by himself. No help from me. And he says the gifts are fantastic! No last minute trips to CVS to buy me crap I don't like cause he didn't bother to buy me anything until 11 pm on the 24Th! I told him over and over it is the thought of the gift.. you actually looking for something I would love. The time and the thought!Let's me know you care! And he has finally gotten it! I am so proud of him! And~It only took me 11 years to train him! Dang I'm good!
Way to go Tony!!

Hannah My Birthday Girl!

Today Hannah Turned 10! Crazy!!

Here are some of the things that we love about Hannah

Bailey said ~ She's happy

Grace~She Play's with me

Dad~ She's always willing to help. She's been sweet ever since she was a baby.

Zachary~She's a goofball, entertaining,and outgoing

Mom~ She has such a kind side to her. She is kind to her little sisters playing with them to keep them busy for me, She's kind to her baby brother,to her animals, and to all her friends. Everyone knows how much she loves them.

Rachelle~She has a good sense of humor. She is always cracking jokes. She's fun to be around.

We love her and are so glad she is

part of our forever family!

She is going to have her official party next week but for today to celebrate I brought cupcakes to her class at school. You can tell by the look on her face she is mortified that I am taking a picture of her as everyone sings to her!

We had dinner then opened a few presents. Low key for now! She wanted a Walkman and Cd's for her present. Easy. I am debating getting her a cell phone too. Maybe..It's only 9.99 a month to add her and she has been begging me for years. I'll have to think about that one for a bit. I have till next Friday..party time..to decide!

Happy Birthday Sweet Hannah!

Happy Birthday Ethan!

Ethan Turns 1!
I can still remember the sinking feeling in my gut when I found out I was pregnant with Ethan.I wasn't feeling well and I decided on a whim to buy a pregnancy test. I was 99.9 percent certain I wasn't pregnant, but thought I sure feel sick like I am, so I will just check to be sure.When the stick started to turn color, I felt the blood rush out of my head. I got dizzy and had to sit immediately so I wouldn't pass out! I just couldn't believe it! I took 4 more pregnancy tests and was shocked each time I got a positive result.
Tony was thrilled we were going to have another baby. I was angry with him. I thought no way could I endure another 9 months of torture, throwing up, IVs, Medicine, Crazy hormones, etc...I called the missionaries in our ward and asked them to come over immediately. When they arrived I explained I needed a blessing...I was pregnant, and didn't think I could handle it. I was a mess.After receiving a blessing, I felt pure peace. It was a gift. I knew this baby was supposed to be ours.
Ethan came into our lives on June 9th weighing in at 7lbs, 9 oz. He was beautiful! I couldn't stop staring at him. He looked so different from my other babies. He looked so much like his daddy and I loved that!I would stare at him for hours. I couldn't put him down. I even slept with him in my bed! I felt such a feeling of gratitude for my Heavenly Father for bringing this sweet boy into my life.
That feeling has remained and has grown stronger. Ethan is such a joy to me and his daddy. To his brothers and sisters.
I think he has the sweetest personality. He cries only when he is tired, needs to be changed, or wants to be picked up.I don't know how I was blessed to have such a good baby! He is so, so good! The absolute happiest baby!
I will eternally be grateful that he is a part of our forever family! Happy Birthday my little angel!

Birthday Fun!

To celebrate Bailey's birthday we went
to Amazing Jake's. We got our food and sat down in the movie room. Too exciting...it was playing The Litttle Mermaid...Bailey's favorite movie and the theme of her party......cool. After eating we headed out to the fun rides and games. Bailey's favorite ride was the frog hopper. She and Hannah rode it about 5 times. Hannah, Bailey, and Grace went on the teacups together. Hannah had the teacups spinning so fast Grace was unable to keep her head up! We were all screaming at Hannah trying to get her attention but she just ignored us! The guy operating the ride finally jumped on the ride as it was moving and pulled Grace off!She couldn't walk for about 5 minutes. Poor Grace! However, now that we are home she will tell you her favorite ride of the evening was the teacups. She will then tell you "but I don't want to ride it no more" Yep, Grace-I bet you don't!

Happy Birthday Bailey

Bailey Turns 4!!
Tuesday was Bailey's birthday!I can't believe my sweet little girl is 4 already.
Bailey, Bailey~It seems like only yesterday I was bringing you home from the hospital. Time has just flown by. Remember when we called you Bailey Bouche? It's from the movie Waterboy. In the movie his mother would say "you the devil bobby bouche,you are the devil" It seemed to fit for you during the terrible twos. Looking back, I think Oh No..Did I stop to enjoy that time enough? You are growing up so fast. I need to take it all in.
I love your personality. I love your sweet mothering side. You are so loving to your brothers and sisters.It is so fun to see you and grace holding hands as you walk everywhere, to see you trying to carry your baby brother who probably outweighs you by a good 5-10 lbs already.I love your strong will. I thought it might be the death of me as we have had power struggles but I have learned to embrace that side of you.
You have brought so much joy into my life and I am eternally grateful you are a part of our family! I hope you had a happy, happy birthday Bailey and I love you so much!